


Every Bit the Fool

by pemfrost



Series: When it ends [1]
Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:15:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29790414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pemfrost/pseuds/pemfrost
Summary: “What are you doing here?”“You asked me to come.”“That was a long time ago.”
Relationships: Erestor/Glorfindel (Tolkien)
Series: When it ends [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2193138
Comments: 5
Kudos: 20





	Every Bit the Fool

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt I found on tumblr a while back on @daily-prompts (highly recommend it for writers block therapy)
> 
> This is the first LOTR/Tolkien fic I've written since ROTK came out, pardon the drabble length.

“What are you doing here?” Erestor's step backwards was subtle, and it would have looked casual to someone who didn't know him half as well as Glorfindel.

But, know him Glorfindel did. So well, in fact, he nearly recoiled as if the counselor had lunged forward and slapped him. Perhaps that would have been preferable over their usual dance of words and hidden meanings- raw emotions put on display without pretence for once would be a welcomed change.

Glorfindel watched silently as Erestor slid behind his imposing oak desk, putting a physical barrier between them. He knew better than to speak to Erestor without carefully selecting his words, but he was weary of their games; there was an exhaustion at his core which was as much emotional as it was physical. Should he be blunt or continue their game using the rules Erestor set forth over the long years?

“You asked me to come.” Blunt. If he wasn't so sore from his last patrol he may have found the humor in how far he had regressed back into his old habits. Habits he'd grown out of over the centuries he sought Erestor's friendship. Habits he'd changed, with great effort, in his folly to have more than mere friendship.

Habits like arguing with Erestor.

Erestor briefly let their eyes meet before he dipped his head towards the open window. “That was a long time ago.”

Raven hair hid his expression, but Glorfindel could picture the annoyance etched on his features. Maybe a mix of disgust. He'd seen it all so many times.

"What is fifty years?" Glorfindel forced a jovial tone, and was glad Erestor wasn't looking at him, for surely his eyes would betray him. Even as he forced himself to answer the question Erestor posed so many years ago, his breathing remained steady- and he wasn't sure whether he could thank his centuries of mastering the arts of battle, or the pure numbness he'd accepted only a week prior.

When Erestor continued to give the flowers outside the window more attention than him, Glorfindel continued, determined to hold his attention. He didn't have the energy to continue to force any light into his words. "I couldn't offer an answer to your question until now. As it were, it came to me while on patrol to the southern border and I've only just returned."

Erestor turned further towards the window, "It was a simple question. One even you should have been able to answer. I've seen you since, it is hard not to when we advise the same king."

"And, I didn't have the answer you sought from me, so I stayed away. And…" Glorfindel paused as his throat constricted around his new realization. "And, if you expected my answer to be simple, and easy- then you never truly bothered to get to know me."

"I gave you that option. An offer many wouldn't hesitate to accept. And you-"

"Just stop, Erestor. You truly are every bit as callous and cold-blooded as I thought you were when I first came here. To play our games was one thing- but to toy with me in such a way-"

This time, it was Glorfindel who stepped away. Every skilled warrior knew when it was time to retreat from the battlefield, and a battlefield Erestor's office truly was. Yet, sometimes, sacrifices needed to be made to win a war, even if it meant the warrior would lose something on the battlefield.

"I almost-" This time he couldn't keep the strain from his voice. "I almost gave in. Having you in my bed should have been an easy decision, yet I second guessed myself at every turn. Your new robes at last month's counsel meeting nearly drove me mad."

Glorfindel took another backwards step towards the door, afraid less of what sharp words Erestor may throw than what truths he might reveal himself. Yet, he was exhausted, and couldn't control the words he was spilling into the open. Or, perhaps he truly wanted the war to be over, even if it wasn't the outcome he would have preferred.

"When I rode away from the border nearly a week ago, I did so with the intention to come back here, to this office where you posed your vile question all those years ago. Except, then I had a different answer."

"Did the wind blow a new idea into your empty head?"

"You could almost say that it did. I was reminded of what I truly seek, by a bard we happened across at a small town just across the river. We stopped due to the high winds that night. Fate really. The bard sang of love, a ballad I'd never heard before. A sad tale, truly, about someone who settled for something easy instead of following what his heart truly wanted."

"And what is it you truly want?"

"I know what I don't want: a warm bed at night and an empty one come morning." He left before more damage could be done.

They would still need to work together, afterall. Though, Glorfindel suspected it would deteriorate back to how things were before he'd trusted Erestor enough to call him a friend. Before his heart fell for his sharp- before he almost forgot how much he yearned for someone who wanted him for more than just a bed partner.

He thought he'd found that in Erestor. How wrong he'd been; every bit the fool Erestor accused him of being.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> Edit: I'll hopefully have part 2 soon <3  
>  ~~Would anyone be interested in a continuation from Erestor's pov?~~


End file.
